‘We have just driven into a new era of fully-automated public transport’, says Dr. Richard Lutz, CEO of Deutsche Bahn

We’ve been hearing about several up-and-coming trends in the vehicle industry for a long time. Ride-sharing is the “now” thing, as are emissions-cutting electric vehicles, and autonomous vehicles represent the future of motoring. That future has already arrived in the German spa town of Bad Birnbach with autonomous mini-buses taking to the roads.

The ride has all the characteristics of the new transport everyone’s been talking about. It’s an electric vehicle, it’s shareable, it’s environment and disabled-friendly, and it’s safe.

No Safety Scandals for Deutsche Bahn

Anyone who has been watching developments in autonomous cars with interest will know that there have been some nasty incidents involving autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles. There was the autonomous Uber cab that killed a woman in Arizona, and Tesla took a blow to its safety record when its semi-autonomous vehicles failed to recognize hazards and crashed. Google’s autonomous car tests have also not been without incident.

Events such as these may have led us to believe that we’re still a long way away from customizable and safe autonomous transport. However, Deutsche Bahn, owners of the new public transport service working with its Frankfurt-based autonomous vehicle brand ioki, isn’t taking any chances.

Although the vehicle has no steering wheel or accelerator, an operator is ready to intervene in case the vehicle’s autonomous systems don’t work as they’re supposed to. That’s just for the present. Once the ioki buses have proved their mettle, the operator may well be dispensed with. It seems as if that time isn’t too far in the future.

A People-Friendly Solution for Public Transport

For now, ioki sees its buses as a supplement to public transport as we currently know it rather than a replacement. The company says that it’s providing a “last mile” solution, filling the gap where public transport ends and people’s transport needs begin.

The Bad Birnbach bus illustrates the concept, taking people the last 700 meters from the town center to the thermal springs that are the town’s biggest tourist attraction. But there’s more in store. Ioki has already built in the capacity to summon its vehicles using a mobile phone app, and that would allow people to call for a ride from any location. The vehicle would then take them to the nearest public transport stop.

Self-driving ioki bus (ioki – Deutsche Bahn AG)

Ioki Public Transport In Bad Birnbach, Germany

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People in rural areas are underserved with public transport options too and may even own a vehicle just because they need to get from home to the train station or bus stop. Even when the car in question is environment-friendly, it places a financial burden on its owner and contributes to traffic congestion.

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There’s also the question of helping the disabled with mobility solutions, and again, ioki thinks it has the answers they need.

Deutsche Bahn is eager to go the extra mile with its ioki brand and sees on-demand rides as part of the future it’s working towards. Bad Birnbach and its six-person mini-bus is likely to be nothing more than the first step towards a customizable public shuttle system that could eliminate the need for vehicle ownership altogether.

The Vehicles: More Than Just the Mini-Bus

The mini-bus that plies the streets of Bad Birnbach is a boxy little six-seater that looks like half a loaf of bread. It’s cute, and it’s compact, but it’s by no means the only option that Deutsche Bahn and ioki are developing.

First field trials for an on-demand autonomous tuk-tuk service in Frankfurt are underway, with ioki employees as acting as the test clients. The current test fleet consists of 13 three-wheel mini-vehicles, and ioki has already developed the apps that will allow passengers to book and pay for rides.

App-Cantered Control for Passengers, Drivers and Service Operators

Apart from passengers using an app to order the ride-sharing service, drivers also get an app. This time it’s to help them navigate the most efficient route to collect their passengers while coordinating all the trip requests they receive.

Meanwhile, an operator-based software package allows administrators to get an overview of the fleet based on their roles with the transport operator. A marketer or customer service official can quickly see the analytics they need to make decisions, as can the operational controllers who plan and run the system.

The various apps and analytics software packages are currently being tested in practice, and by the time the system enjoys widespread adoption, it should be ready to handle just about anything that the real-life needs of all players can throw at it.

What it All Adds Up To

Clean electricity is an area in which Germany has become a worldwide leader. While some countries may still rely heavily on polluting coal-fired power stations and the hazards of nuclear energy, Germany has quietly been switching over to clean energy sources and renewable energy-sharing with its neighbors.

A private electric vehicle can already save a considerable amount of emissions. But with ride-sharing electric vehicles preparing to hit the mainstream in a big way, energy demands will be slashed. If ioki realizes its vision of making private vehicles redundant, the pressure on energy networks and the emissions from traditional vehicles will be substantially reduced.

Quieter roads and more pleasant urban environments will also become a reality. If an electric shuttle carries six people who would otherwise have used a private vehicle, there will be five fewer vehicles on the roads. Multiply that by the number of ride-sharing vehicles available, and the impact could be enormous.

Finally, people will be better off. Maintaining and running a private vehicle has costs, but people continue to buy vehicles out of necessity or a desire for convenience. With both need and ease of use out of the equation, more people will use ride-sharing vehicles and public transport, and while this has its own costs, they will be far lower than those of private vehicle ownership.

Aiming to accelerate the transition to the post-carbon economy, LAGI brings up and adapts more contingent models of renewable energy

Have you ever thought that artwork could capture clean and renewable energy from nature without affecting its connectivity with the community? The gleaming arch Rio Iluminado is ready to bring an entirely new transformation in the waterfront of downtown Willimantic. On the Connecticut Arts Day, the artwork Rio Iluminado was awarded as the winner of the LAGI Willimantic design competition.

The competition, organized by Land Art Generator, shows that how innovation through interdisciplinary collaboration, culture, and the increasing technology role can give a new form to the aesthetic change in our environment. Aiming to accelerate the transition to the post-carbon economy, LAGI brings up and adapts more contingent models of renewable energy.

(Rio Iluminado)

To execute this design at new whitewater park along the Willimantic River, Land Art Generator worked with Willimantic Whitewater in partnership with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development Office of the Arts and the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University.

Designed by Pirie Associates Architects, Lindsay Suter, and sculptor Gar Waterman, Rio Illuminado will be placed on the waterfront of downtown Willimantic. The arch, covering 900 sq. ft solar array, will generate 25.5 MWh annually for 3.4 acres of the brownfield site owned by WWP. It will generate energy using the sun while maintaining the community’s connection with nature. It is expected that Willimantic’s multi-use recreational site is able to accelerate the socio-economic development for post-industrial Windham which incorporates the former city.

(Rio Iluminado)

The WWP President James Turner says, “Rio Iluminado cleverly addresses how to bring the river closer to the community—and vice-versa. We are thrilled to have a project design that will result in such an intricately conceived and strikingly executed work of art for the community to enjoy and be inspired by for years to come.” Energy Technical Specialist Jessica LeClair says, “ISE sees the project as a possible model that can be shared across the state.”

For phase II of the development of Rio Illuminado, the team will begin with the detailed design stage. From the intricate drawings for fabrication and equipment fitting to a quantity survey and estimation of cost, the team will provide a prototype and commission planning. Phase III will include the fabrication, instruction, and production of Rio Iluminado. Its cost estimate is between $250,000 and $500,000.

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“Willimantic, as a community in its post-industrial reckoning, struggled to identify itself and its future,” says Laura Pirie, principal of Pirie Associates Architects. “The LAGI program resonated with us, from a community purpose-making point of view.”

(Rio Iluminado)

“You’re creating a sense of space, you’re a creating this physical space that makes people feel further connected, and then you’re putting energy back on the grid,” says Kristina Newman-Scott, Director of Culture in the Office of the Arts & Historic Preservation, with the State of Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD).

Nominated For The Cartier Women's Initiative Award

Do you know that 80% of the world’s diseases occur because of the availability of poor sanitation solutions to about 1.2 billion people around the globe (stated in a report by World Health Organization)? Do you know that no access to sanitation lets the pubescent girls drop-out from school? Can you imagine what it would be like for the young kids to concentrate on their classroom education without being able to go to the bathroom?

The urban drinking-water and sanitation infrastructure in some megacities on our globe can’t keep up with its rapid growth. According to the WHO, around 20% of urban dwellers were suffering a lack of improved sanitation access in 2012. Especially in urban regions of developing countries, a comparatively large part, allegedly more than 50%, must suffer poor drinking-water and sanitation conditions.

Perhaps we can change that in the future with the following off-grid toilet? Change:WATER Labs CEO Diana Yosef has designed an evaporative off-grid toilet which will probably able to solve this problem of masses. This toilet is based on the principle that human waste consists of 90 to 95% water. The applied polymer membrane allows separating the dry part from the liquid one. The dried waste can be accumulated safely while the clean water waste gets evaporated quickly. To make it clear: No water, heat or energy is needed for the operation. Diana’s toilette even renders pipes or tanks unnecessary.

The compact and easy to use evaporative off-grid toilet is available at a very reasonable price. Its easy, fast and affordable off-grid installation allows accessibility nearly everywhere. Due to the intensive drying process, a low waste volume is remaining every day and therefore extending emptying intervals. For the mentioned reasons, this stand-alone unit is considered to be very practical.

Diana is a biochemistry graduate from Harvard and a doctorate from Cornell University who wants to solve the world’s water problem and at the same time empower girls by utilizing this evaporative toilet technology. She has over ten years of experience in commercializing technology and understanding issues that concern sanitation and women empowerment.

“I wanted to be in charge of a business that aligned with my values and uses technology for a positive social impact; I also wanted to be a role model for my daughters by showing them that you create your own future,” says Diana.

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Success doesn’t come easily. This held true for Diana who had to undergo a lot of trials and errors to be successful in designing this evaporative toilet. “Some days, it’s enough to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I’ve learned that sometimes, big breakthroughs come at the most desperate moments.” This is why “my advice to fellow female entrepreneurs would be to ‘be brave’.”

New Clark City - Envisioned to be completed in 2022

Would you like to live in a city that is all about technology? From drones, robots, Japanese bullet trains to vehicles in auto-pilot mode, it has all to offer. But for that, you need to relocate to Philippines’ city of the future – New Clark City.

First Sustainable City to Be Built By 2022 in the Philippines

The government of Philippines is planning this $14 billion high-tech smart city to take the burden off the country’s capital, Manila, which is reeling under challenges of gridlock traffic and ever-increasing pollution. As per UN Data, the capital’s population density is 14,500 people per square kilometer which is triple than that of London. Moreover, Manila is vulnerable to floods and typhoons; New Clark City is planned to be sustainable and eco-friendly and free of the country’s current problems. Similar to the green Liuzhou Forest City in China or Forest City in Malaysia, New Clark City is completely planned from scratch.

“smart, green, disaster-resilient city” (Surbana Jurong)

Groundbreaking ceremony of New Clark City in April 2016 (Surbana Jurong)

Also called Clark Green City, it is situated 100 km away from Manila within the Clark Special Economic Zone. A Japanese company is employed to design train connectivity between both the cities, which will bring down the commute time to one hour from the current three hours. Spread over 23,400 acres, New Clark City lies in the land-locked Tarlac province with its development managed by the state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority. It is planned to be home to two million people and is expected to contribute $30 billion to the country’s economy yearly.

Manila-Clark Railway designed to transport up to 350,000 passengers daily

President Rodrigo Duterte plans to design a city that is resilient to climate changes and natural calamities. He also wants to decentralize the government offices away from the capital’s traffic jams, which would cause a loss of $155 million per day to the city’s productivity by 2030, as found out by a Japanese government study. According to Bloomberg, Duterte even means that the capital Manila will be dead in 25 years.

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“The vision is to build a new thriving city outside Metro Manila that’s well-planned, future-proof,” said Vince Dizon, president of the Bases Conversion Development Authority. “We will slowly move some government activities to Clark to pump-prime the city.”

More than 100,000 sqm for the new Clark International Airport (Surbana Jurong)

Located in the Clark Special Economic Zone (Surbana Jurong)

The government of the Sout-East Asian island nation is investing $1 billion along with private companies to build a 200-hectare administrative block that will act as office space for the government employees. The city will have at least eight government buildings and 8000 houses in the five years from the scheduled launch in 2022. Also, it will have an industrial park to be developed by Filinvest Land Inc. and a sports complex. However, all the infrastructure will be housed only on one-third land, which is planned to be developed. The rest two-thirds is intended to be kept in open and green spaces.

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By 2020, the city will also have its airport that can handle 12 million travelers annually. Bases Conversion plans to get funding for the project by selling 60 hectares of land near the Makati financial district, the prices of which are at a record high.

“We need to strike a balance between fast-paced development that maximizes value for the private sector, and protecting open spaces and making the city walkable, green and resilient,” said Vince Dizon, president of the state-run Bases Conversion Development Authority. “Traditional development cannot overwhelm or overpower the area,” he said. “For New Clark City, here lies the challenge.”

570 Broome's facade in New York is also NSF certified and receives LEED points

From billboards that purify air at the rate of 1200 trees, innovators with a green conscience have turned to design a building that will clean the air at the rate of 500 trees. This 25-storey luxury condo 570 Broome in the West Soho neighborhood of NYC, designed by Tahir Demircioglu, has a self-cleaning exterior that works with sunlight to turn contaminants into salt and mist.

570 Broome’s facade is also NSF certified and receives LEED points

The innovative material on the exterior of the building is designed in a collaboration between Neolith and PURETi. Neolith manufactures sintered stone surfaces, which are sprayed with a special treatment by PURETi.

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Sintering is a recent ceramic technique of using extreme heat and pressure, replicating a natural process, to create surfaces. Neolith’s Skyline line of facades has introduced a Sintered Stone PURETi collaboration to respond to the global drive to reduce urban air pollution.

This 25-storey luxury condo cleans itself and the surrounding air (570 Broome)

Building facades become dirty and contaminated over time. Contaminating agents including accumulated dust and pollutants from cars and/or industries nearby slowly corrode the surfaces of buildings. Researchers have been looking for self-cleaning materials for building facades and discovered titanium dioxide’s property of photocatalysis.

The PURETi surface treatment on Neolith’s plates is an aqueous and titanium dioxide nanoparticle-based substance sprayed on. When sunlight or light from some LED lights falls on the surface, the titanium dioxide particles are activated. These particles use light energy to change the moisture in air to oxidizing agents that destroy contaminants like nitrogen dioxide, grease, dirt, and other organic pollutants. The pollutants are converted into salts and water vapor. This process, known as photocatalysis, changes harmful substances on building facades to neutral material.

The opportunity of Neolith and Pureti

Another property of Titanium Dioxide, called superhydrophilicity, makes it attract water. When it rains, the water expands evenly across the facade and drags remaining dirt down for self-cleaning.

The process of photocatalysis is repeated millions of times per second. The technology helps not just to protect the building exterior from deterioration, but also helps to improve air quality inside and around the building. The result is an anti-allergen, anti-odor and anti-bacterial surface. The facade is also NSF certified and receives LEED points.

Entry of Tahir Demircioglu’s designed 570 Broome condominium in New York City (570 Broome)

Living room with view over New York City (570 Broome)

However, this is not the first self-cleaning building project. Liuzhou Forest City, for instance, is able to improve the air quality by absorbing almost 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide and 57 tons of pollutants yearly. Roughly 900 tons of produced oxygen contribute providing healthy air for the inhabitants of this innovative city. And there are a lot more impressing and inspiring green building projects with similar features.